mythological

Typical Biblical Allusions The Creation The Fall (from the Garden) The Mark of Cain The Flood Lot and His Wife Sodom and Gomorrah The Nativity Lazarus The Crucifixion The Denial Thirty pieces of silver David and Goliath Golgotha The Prodigal Son Jonah and the Whale Sampson and Delilah Revelations Moses and the flight from Egypt Solomon Jezeebel

Typical Mythological Allusions Achilles’ heel Helen of Troy Hercules Icarus Narcissus Odysseus Pandora’s Box Phoenix Prometheus Eros and Psyche Clytemnestra Cassandra Persephone Tiresias

Symbolism in Literature Symbolism is the practice or art of using an object or a word to represent an abstract idea. An action, person, place, word, or object can all have a symbolic meaning. When an author wants to suggest a certain mood or emotion, he can also use symbolism to hint at it, rather than just blatantly saying it.

What is symbolism? A symbol is the use of a concrete object to represent an abstract idea. The term, symbol, when used in literature is often a figure of speech in which a person, object, or situation represent something in addition to its literal meaning. Conventional or traditional literary symbols work in much the same way, and because they have a previously agreed upon meaning, they can be used to suggest ideas more universal than the physical aspect itself.

Most commonly, a symbol will present itself in the form of: A symbol may appear in a work of literature in a number of different ways to suggest a number of different things. Most commonly, a symbol will present itself in the form of: a word a figure of speech an event the total action a character

Symbolic Meaning of Colors Red : immoral; blood, passion, emotion, danger, or daring; often associated with fire Black: seen as a cold and negative aspect suggesting passivity, death, ignorance, or evil; black hens are used in witchcraft as are black cats Green : inexperience, hope; new life, immaturity; it is a comforting, refreshing human color; it is the color of plant life Yellow : rotting, heat, decay, violence, decrepitude, old age, and the approach of death; bright; happiness Blue : cool, calm, peaceful; an insubstantial color in the real world except as translucency, the void of heavens Pink : innocence, femininity Purple : royalty, bruising or pain Brown : a color somewhere between russet and black; it is the color of earth and ploughed land and soil, it represents humility and poverty Orange : the emblem of divine love or extreme lust; vibrancy, life Violet : composed of red and blue, it is the color of temperance, clarity of mind White : innocence, life, light, purity, or enlightenment

Nature Seasons Spring: birth, new beginning Summer: maturity, knowledge Autumn: decline, nearing death, growing old Winter: death, sleep, hibernation, or stagnation Christmas season: birth, change for the better Easter season: rebirth, enlightenment Light: truth, safety, warmth, knowledge Darkness: evil, ignorance, danger

Nature (cont’d.) Trees Apple: temptation, loss of innocence Chestnut: foresight Oak: strength, wisdom Pear: blossoming, fleeting nature of life Poplar: linked to the underworld, to pain, sacrifice, and grief, a funeral tree, symbolizes the regressive powers of nature Sycamore: a sign of vanity and to climb it is to thrust in vain things Pine: symbol of immortality because of its evergreen foliage

Nature (cont’d.) Weeds : evil (hemlock, pigweed, etc), wildness/outcasts of society Flowers : beauty, youth, strength, gentleness Anemone: transience Chrysanthemums: solar symbol; represents perfection, an autumn flower, Rose: budding youth, romance, potential, fragility Sunflower: Sturdiness Violet: shyness, something petite Lily: evokes unlawful passion, temptation, the election of one’s choice

Miscellaneous Objects Water : washes away guilt, origin of life, regeneration, vehicle of cleansing River : fluidity of life, stream of life and death Moon : changing and returning shape, feminine symbol Sun : source of light, heat and life; a masculine symbol Cavern : the maternal womb Mountain : places where heaven and earth meet; stability, safety, often symbolic of human pride

Metals and Gems Rubies : represents good fortune; it was believed that they banished sorrow and warded off evil spirits Sapphires : contemplation, purity Silver : relates to the moon, to water and the female principle; it may also symbolize the object of all desires and the harm they cause  Gold : the perfect metal; a reflection of heavenly light; it suggest the sun-fertility, wealth, dominion; it is a male principle

Directions East : land of birth or rebirth; of the Sun and Venus; it is associated with renewal, youth, feasting, song and love North : is the side which lies on the sun’s right hand and lies on either side of life; it symbolizes night sky and night wind and is the home of the Moon and the Milky Way. North represents coldness, alienation, and hostility; it is the abode of death South : is the side which lies on the Sun’s left hand and is the hand of fire; represents warmth and comfort West : is the land of evening, old age, and the descending passage of the sun

Weather/Time Snow : blanket which obscures, covers or even smothers Fog/Mist : prevents clear vision or thinking; represents isolation; mist is often the symbol of the indeterminate phase in development when shapes have yet to be defined; they are preludes to important revelations or prologues to manifestations Rain : sadness or despair or new life; a symbol of celestial influences the Earth receives Wind and Storms : violent human emotions Lightning : indicates the spark of life and the powers of fertilization; it can be either life- giving or death dealing, so it is a sign of power and strength Morning : the time of God’s blessings; the beginning of when all is still uncorrupted; symbol of purity and promise Rainbows : also intermediaries and pathways between Heaven and Earth; mostly are generally heralds of good and are linked with cycles of rebirth, they may also serve as prologues to disturbance Thunder : the voice of God or gods

Animals Dove : peace, purity, simplicity Fox : slyness, cleverness Raven : death, destruction; they often play prophetic roles or function as a conductor of the soul Lion : a solar symbol, power, pride Peacock : pride, vanity Serpent/Snake : temptation, evil Mouse : shyness, meekness Hawk : sharp, keen eyesight Owl : wisdom, rational knowledge; messenger of death Salmon : instinct; sacred wisdom Cats : are often viewed as serpents of the underworld; they also symbolize cunning,forethought, and ingenuity Lamb : serves as a manifestation of the power of Spring and renewal, sacrificial element, the children of God Cuckoo : jealousy and parasitism, it lays eggs in the nests of other birds; laziness

Carl Jung attempts to explore the connection between literature and what Carl Jung (a student of Freud) called the “collective unconscious” of the human race: "...racial memory, through which the spirit of the whole human species manifests itself" (Richter 504). Jungian criticism, closely related to Freudian theory because of its connection to psychoanalysis, assumes that all stories and symbols are based on mythic models from mankind’s past. This will also serve as a preview to Mythological Criticism Based on these commonalities, Jung developed archetypal myths a Jungian critic would look for archetypes in creative works generally involved with a search for the embodiment of these symbols within particular works of art. When dealing with this sort of criticism, it is often useful to keep a handbook of mythology and a dictionary of symbols on hand.

Archetypes A constantly recurring symbol or motif in literature, painting, or mythology According to Jungian approach of psychology, some highly developed elements of the collective unconscious are called "archetypes." Carl Jung developed an understanding of archetypes as universal, archaic patterns and images that derive from the collective unconscious and are the psychic counterpart of instinct. Being unconscious, the existence of archetypes can only be deduced indirectly by examining behavior, images, art, myths, religions, or dreams. Archetypal images and story patterns encourage readers (and viewers of films and advertisements) to participate ritualistically in basic beliefs, fears, and anxieties of their age. These archetypal features not only constitute the intelligibility of the text but also tap into a level of desires and anxieties of humankind.

Archetypal Events 1. Birth 2. Death 3. Separation from parents 4. Initiation/rite of passage—The main character undergoes experiences that lead him towards maturity 5. Marriage 6. Union of opposites 7. Journey—the main character takes a journey that may be physical or emotional to understand his or her personality and the nature of the world

Archetypal Figures Archetypal Figures   1. [Great] mother—may be represented as Fairy Mother who guides and directs a child, Mother Earth who contacts people and offers spiritual and emotional nourishment, and Stepmother who treats their stepchildren roughly 2. Father 3. Child (innocent, romantic, dreamer)—He or she is inexperienced with many weaknesses and seeks safety with others but others like him/her because of the trust he or she shows in other people. Usually, the experience of coming of age 4. Devil 5. God (creator) 6. Wise old man (expert, scholar, detective, advisor, thinker, philosopher, academic, researcher, thinker, planner, professional, mentor, teacher, contemplative)— His or her task is to protect the main character. It is through the wise advice and training of a mentor that the main character achieves success in the world 7. Wise old woman (“) 8. Trickster (fool, joker, practical joker, comedian) 9. Hero (warrior, soldier)— He or she is a character who predominantly exhibits goodness and struggles against evil in order to restore harmony and justice to society 10. Doppelganger/shadow—a representation of the personal unconscious as a whole and usually embodies the compensating values to those held by the conscious personality. Thus, the shadow often represents one's dark side, those aspects of oneself that exist, but which one does not acknowledge or with which one does not identify

Archetypal Figures 11. Anima—appears in men and is his primordial image of woman. It represents the man's biological expectation of women, but also is a symbol of a man's feminine possibilities, his contrasexual tendencies. The animus archetype is the analogous image of the masculine that occurs in women 12. Orphan/Regular Guy or Gal (everyman, the realist, the silent majority, the good neighbor, the girl next door) 13. Caregiver (saint, altruist, parent, helper, supporter) 14. Explorer (seeker, iconoclast, wanderer, individualist, pilgrim) 15. Rebel (revolutionary, wild man, the misfit, or iconoclast) 16. Lover (partner, friend, intimate, enthusiast, sensualist, spouse, team-builder) 17. Magician (visionary, catalyst, inventor, charismatic leader, shaman, healer, medicine man) 18. Ruler (boss, leader, aristocrat, king, queen, politician, role model, manager or administrator) 19. Villain—a character whose main function is to go to any extent to oppose the hero or whom the hero must annihilate in order to bring justice 20. Scapegoat—a character that takes the blame of everything bad that happens

Archetypal Motifs 1. the Apocalypse 2. the Deluge/Flood 3. the Creation 4. the Fall—The main character falls from grace in consequence of his or her own action; a descent from a higher to a lower state of being. The experience involves a defilement and/or a loss of innocence and bliss. The fall is often accompanied by expulsion from a kind of paradise as a penalty for disobedience and moral transgression. 5. Good Versus Evil— represents the clash of forces that represent goodness with those that represent evil 6. Unhealable wound—the wound is either physical or psychological and cannot be healed fully. This wound also indicates a loss of innocence. These wounds always ache and drive the sufferer to desperate measures 7. Magic weapon—used by the hero to defeat the forces of evil…must have supernatural or magical powers.

Questions for a Jungian Reading: What connections can we make between elements of the text and the archetypes? (Mask, Shadow, Anima, Animus) How do the characters in the text mirror the archetypal figures? (Great Mother or nurturing Mother, Whore, destroying Crone, Lover, Destroying Angel) How does the text mirror the archetypal narrative patterns? (Quest, Night-Sea- Journey) How symbolic is the imagery in the work? How does the protagonist reflect the hero of myth? Does the “hero” embark on a journey in either a physical or spiritual sense? Is there a journey to an underworld or land of the dead? What trials or ordeals does the protagonist face? What is the reward for overcoming them?